Ill. Supreme Court chief justice to take office

DANVILLE — The new chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court is set to take office.

The installation ceremony for Justice Rita Garman is Monday morning at the Vermilion County Courthouse in Danville.

Garman has been a judge since 1974. She began her legal career with the Vermilion County Legal Aid Society.

She was unanimously elected by her colleagues on the seven-member court. She'll become the first of the state's top jurists to serve in virtually every judicial capacity on circuit, appellate and Supreme courts. She'll be the 119th chief justice and the second woman to hold the post.

She's replacing Justice Thomas Kilbride who served three years as chief justice. He resumes his associate justice post.

He was known for improving technology, something which Garman has said she wants to continue.